Leeds United and Hull City are in pole position to sign Peterborough goal machine Jack Marriott, according to the Mirror.
The newspaper claim that promotion-chasing Leeds are battling to land the striker, 23, who scored twice against Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Saturday to take his tally for the season to 23 goals in 36 games.
The Mirror report that it will take a fee of around £3million to prise Marriott from Peterborough, who have a track record of being a springboard club for strikers with Aaron McLean, Dwight Gayle, Craig Mackail-Smith, Britt Assombalonga and Conor Washington all kicking on after spells at London Road.
It is said that Leeds’ Championship rivals Hull and Aston Villa are also keeping close tabs on the former Ipswich Town player, who ignited his career when he stepped down the divisions to join Luton on a free in 2015.
Good move for Leeds?
Yes, definitely. It is a measure of Marriott’s remarkable progress than the only Englishman to score more goals than him across all four divisions this season is Harry Kane, with 26. Marriott has struck 23 goals, 17 of which have come in 25 league matches, since joining from Luton Town last summer and has made the climb from the fourth tier to League One look an easy one. Leeds’ interest is understandable, given that they are crying out for a prolific goalscorer after selling Chris Wood to Burnley for £18million last summer. This would be a deal that could solve the club’s goal problems instantly.
This Is Futbol rating 8/10
Likely to happen?
It is possible, although Leeds will need to pay relatively big money to sign Marriott this month. Villa would normally represent huge competition, but they are short of cash as they attempt to comply with financial fair play regulations and are not expected to spend massively this month.
This Is Futbol rating 6/10